Quit your life
by Miss Barbara
Summary: Someone has a score to settle with Gibbs and hurts a lot of people doing it. McAbby and Tiva included.
1. Chapter 1

**(****insert title)**

**Chapter 1**

"Nooooo!" Tim gasped for air as he felt the pipe hitting his abdomen hard. He was scared and had no idea why this man wanted to torture him this much. He kept howling as the metal pipe kept hitting him, on his back, on his head, on his feet. It hurt so much, he could no longer stay conscious.

~~ Earlier that day~~

Tim came running into the bullpen. He knew he was a little late, but the traffic was really awful this morning. Not to mention that he couldn't find a parking spot.

"You're late," Gibbs barked. "We have a crime scene. Grab your gear."

McGee was still geared up since he hadn't even made it to his desk. He just turned around and walked back to the elevator where he waited for the rest of his team to join him.

During the trip to the crime scene, Tony started his usual teasing of McGee."So McSleeping Beauty, why were you late this morning?"

McGee sighed. "Traffic."

Tony was about to tease him a little more about it, but Gibbs, anticipating the teasing which only led to the ongoing bickering between the two, shouted "Shut up DiNozzo." The team wondered why Gibbs was in such a bad mood today, but they didn't speak the rest of the trip, and held on for their dear lives when Gibbs made the final turn onto the parking lot at Rock Creek Park.

It was mid-spring and it was beautiful. The flowers were starting to develop and their colors only served to add to the beauty of the area. The trees were about to bud. Birds sang and the place smelled like a spring rain. It would have been a truly beautiful place if not for the bright yellow police tape. Ducky had just arrived so it was time to get down to business. Tim always dreaded what they would find behind that police tape. As long as he had been doing this, he never got used to the dead bodies.

Tim saw Gibbs kneeling and talking to Ducky. When McGee came closer with some investigation gear he stood shocked. Before him in this almost magical place this time of year he saw a naked little girl, about 7 or 8 years old, red hair and terrified blue eyes. Her body was covered in bruises and a few cuts, the blood dried up. On her arm was a signature, marked with a knife: Special Agent Gibbs

Tim knew this was going to be a very hard case. This girl would remind Gibbs of Kelly, his daughter who was killed when she was 7. He swallowed hard and walked towards Gibbs. Gibbs was handing out orders. "McGee, 100 meter search, you lead the forensics team. Bag and tag everything. DiNozzo Sho.."

"Shoot and sketch, got it Boss!"

"I will talk to the person who found the remains," anticipated Ziva.

Gibbs went back to Ducky. He sighed before he talked to the ME. "Talk to me Ducky." The older man took a minute to take a look at his friend. He could see that this case already hit him hard. "We could give the case to another team, Jethro. Vance wouldn't mind. Agent Johnson has a great team." Gibbs knew that the old man was trying to help him, but when he heard about the case he took it personally.

"Time of death Duck? Or Cause of death?"

Ducky answered right away: "It is a little cold for this time of year, but just a guess the girl has been dead for 8 to 10 hours. No obvious signs of cause of death. But I will be able to tell you more as soon as Mr. Palmer and I take the poor girl back to autopsy."

Both men stood and walked away, but before Gibbs went looking for DiNozzo Ducky grabbed Gibbs shoulder and looked him deep in the eyes. "I am here for you if you want to talk." And with that he left to search for his assistant. Gibbs smiled when he heard the man talking to Palmer about the time that he was lost in a forest with Gerald.

When he came to the truck he saw his team standing together and talking with soft voices. The moment Ziva spotted Gibbs they immediately changed the subject. "We need to tell you something boss..." McGee started when Gibbs was standing beside them.

"We know how you will take this case personally," Ziva continued when she noticed that McGee was afraid to speak any further after receiving one of Gibbs' famous glares, "and we are standing behind you on this one. If we can do anything, just ask." Tony nodded to show Gibbs that he was in on this too. Gibbs' face didn't respond to this but he felt his heart warm a little. This was his team, and they wanted to go to great lengths on this case, because they knew this was personal for him.

Gibbs looked at McGee. "And?" he asked, covering his appreciation with impatience and gruffness.

"Nothing so far," the agent responded, "We found a lot of garbage, gum, cigarette butts and condoms. Abby will have a field day with this." Gibbs nodded and looked to Ziva. "Early morning runner found the girl. Was shocked and called local 911." Finally Gibbs looked at Tony. "No ID yet boss, I called Abby but she said that there were no missing girls reported over the last year that match this description."

"Uhm, Agent Gibbs?" A local LEO stuttered and took a deep breath before continuing. "You and your investigations are sort of uh, famous around here. So I wondered, if I um, could uh, tag along during this investigation? It would look good on my resume since I am looking to go in to federal law enforcement, CIA, FBI, you know. The big guys." They all took a good look at the guy. Tall, dark brown hair, a little longer than usual, bright blue eyes and earring in the upper part of his right ear. Gibbs didn't even bother to answer before walking away.

Tony felt sorry for the kid and told him with a smile: "We already have one probie, we don't need another one.. And telling him that you don't think NCIS is big, great mistake there, kiddo!" And with that he ran after his boss, back to the crime scene to finish the last things.

The ride back to headquarters was almost silent. There was a little small talk but that didn't last long. They talked the first five minutes about how beautiful the park was this time of year, but everyone was uncomfortable with the mood in the truck, so Ziva started making notes in her notebook, Tony was playing a game at his phone and Tim was just sitting in the back.

Everyone had seen how much the girl looked like Kelly. It was cruel that someone would hurt Gibbs using his daughter's death. When the truck was parked in the evidence garage, McGee and Tony took the boxes with the evidence they collected and brought them to Abby right away. Ziva said something about making sure she would have identified the girl by noon and within seconds they were all gone.

Gibbs leaned against the truck and took a deep breath. The image of this girl hit him hard. It made it painful to breathe for a few seconds back at the crime scene. But it felt good to know that his team was behind him on this one. He would track this killer down, even if he had to go to the other end of the world.


	2. Chapter 2

a/n Hello everyone, sorry that it took me such a long time to update, but now i finally have vacation, so the update wil come sooner, i am also looking for a beta for the rest of this story.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

DiNozzo and McGee took the evidence to Abby, but were surprised to find when they entered the lab there was no blaring music.

Tim tried not to laugh when he saw Abby, sucking on a straw from her 4th Caff-Pow. When she came up for air she started talkingso fast neither could understand what she was trying to say.

"This is personal, he can't get away with this. MY ...silver..... …. fox!."

And so she went on and on, until Gibbs joined them, snapping her out of it. She gave him a bone-crushing-hug before telling him everything would be alright. She would work non-stop till she found the bastard who did this.

Pointing at Tony, Abby said, "You, send me copies of all the pictures you took at the crime scene." Then she pointed at McGee, "You too, and bring me a Caff-Pow every hour. I need to stay fueled."

With that she grabbed the boxes and went to work with the evidenceleaving a stunned Tony and Tim in her hyper-driven wake. When they heard Gibbs yelling from the elevator they made a sprint for the elevator, catching it just before the door closed.

When they arrived at the bullpen they saw Ziva typing furiously into her computer. The moment she saw the other team members appear she started to talk.

"I found no missing persons record matching her description so far. But, I sentevery police station over the entire country a picture of our victim. I also sent a photo to Interpol, just in case. Right now, I am reviewing cases of the past 10 years that involved a little girl with her description."

Gibbs nodded to Ziva. "Good job," he told her. "McGee, DiNozzo, help her."

Then Gibbs sat at least half an hour at his desk, just staring at the picture of the crime scene before he suddenly stood up. "I'll go talk to Ducky."When he was about to enter autopsy his phone rang. A look at the caller ID told him it was Ducky. Instead of answering he just walked in to autopsy.

"Just in time," Ducky told him. "Got an ID yet?" He asked.

"No," answered Gibbs, frustration in his voice

"Well, I think you gave your team the wrong description."

He motioned for Gibbs to come closer: "See, her hair is dyed. She's a blonde." Ducky showed Gibbs where the killer did a poor job coloring the girl's hair. " And her eyes, they're green. The killer used colored lenses, just to trick us. At least initially."

Ducky looked at his friend and told him that he had nothing on COD so far, but the coloring and lenses seemed importuned to him.

Within five minutes they had a hit. Ryanne Star, turned 8 two months ago. Ziva read off the pertinent information to the rest of the team, putting her picture up on the plasma screen. "She was the child of Ryan Star, petty officer 2nd class and his wife Sharon Engel-Star, A nurse at Bethesda.. They live in Norfolk. The girl was reported missing 6 days ago. She was playing with her friend 5 houses down the street and never returned home. Another NCIS team, specialized in kidnapping, along with many people living on base had also helped in the search. But they had found nothing, not even a trace." Ziva sighed sadly as she looked at the little girl's face. "A missing kid touches the whole community."

Gibbs went up to Vances office, he was going to claim the lead on this one. And from the look on his face, the team knew that he was not going to take no for an answer.

He was back in 3 minutes and went to the elevator calling for DiNozzo, who followed him with an "on your six boss." Ziva looked over to McGee and they had no words for a second. This was going to be a long case. Someone was holding a grudge against Gibbs, nothing strange there, but this person was going great lengths to make him suffer.

There was nothing they could do right now so Ziva decided to take a look at all of Gibbs case files and look a little bit deeper in to the history of her parents. McGee went down to see if Abby already had found something. he really liked visiting Abby at her lab.

"Got something off the evidence?" he asked her.

"You mean other than an awful lot of dirt?" She told him smiling. "Nothing, but I am running a test on the girl's hair, checking for any drugs or other toxins that might have been in her system. Maybe we can see where the killer bought the stuff or the brand of something."

McGee knew that this was just wishful thinking but he nodded anyway.

" And I am still processing all the garbage from the crime scene. You can help if you want! And please, be a little more patient. Evidence processing takes time Timmy." Abby said with a fake cheery smile on her face.

McGee smiled, he liked it when she called him Timmy, and at the lab he could go geeky all the way and she would even understand it. This was his favorite place to be in the whole building.

But Tim knew that there was no time to waist. He said goodbye to Abby and went looking for Ansley's team, who had the lead on the search for the girl. He better had something good to tell Gibbs when he came back.

He found the team working in the squad room and explained that they found the girl and his team was now lead on the case. They gave Tim the information he needed, they could see that this was not an argument. Plus, Vance had already called that they had to hand over the case.

McGee took the file and scanned trough it. Nothing special was in it. They had searched the base with dogs, but the trail went cold at the parking lot. The list of suspects was very small, the thought it might be some creepy guy that walked his doy everyday at the field behind the families house. But there was nothing to link him to the kidnap.

He called DiNozzo anyway to tell them what he found out about the girl.

" Now I am going to compare this file to everything we know about Gibbs' cases. I will call you back I find anything."

Short after the phone call Gibbs and DiNozzo arrived at the house of the girl.

"I can take the lead on this one boss," Tony suggested.

"No, I want to do this myself," Gibbs said gruffly. "I know what this family is feeling. Do you?" And with that Gibbs rang the bell.

The family was shocked about the news the agents brought. Gibbs asked standard questions but they couldn't help with that. Gibbs reassured the woman that he would do everything to catch the man who did this. And now for the hardest part, Tony thought as he listened to Gibbs asked quietly, "We need you to identify the remains as your daughter."

"Of course,", Ryan Star answered. "I'll go with you now. I don't think my wife should have to see this."

Gibbs agreed. "We will let the security know that you are coming." Both Tony and Gibbs offered the family their condolences and left.

Ziva had found nothing in some of Gibbs' old case files, and there was nothing suspect about the parents, but something was bothering her about the crime scene. She put a note on Gibbs' desk and left to take another look at the crime scene.

When she got there, the area was already cleared and she saw nothing but some runners and a few college kids, skipping classes. The location was off, she thought. A lot of people pass this place, and he could have easy been caught.

And then she saw something blinking in the corner of her eye, a security camera. She flipped her phone open and dialed a number. "McGee, listen to me. I'm at the parking lot where we found the girl. There are security cameras! Have you checked the tapes yet?" She listened to McGee saying something and hung up. Feeling that she had accomplished something she drove back to headquarters.

When she arrived back at NCIS, she down to the lab to see if McGee had found something.

"Sorry Ziva," he told her, "the camera's didn't work that night. There was some problem with the local energy company." McGee turned his back and went to work. There was still an awful lot of files to go trough.

Ziva wondered for a quick moment why he was working in the lab but she decided not to question it.

Ziva took the elevator back upstairs and at ground floor Gibbs and Tony entered the elevator as well. Ziva told them about her trip and the results. Gibbs flippped the elevator emergency switch. He looked at Ziva and whispered. "If you want to leave headquarters, clear it with me first. Not just some note." As if nothing happened he flipped the switch back and walked out of the elevator when they arrived at the bullpen.

Tony shot Ziva a look and they followed their boss to their desks. Before Gibbs could sit down his phone rang. "Gibbs." he answered, listened to the caller and hung up. "Ducky" he said, dropping his gun and badge in his desk drawer and turned back to the elevator, waving his team to come with him.

The 'ding' of the elevator told Ducky that Jethro and his team had arrived.

"What have you got Duck?" Gibbs asked..

"Well our girl died around 1 am this morning. So my estimated TOD was right." "If you look closely, you see all these small puncture wounds?" He asked pointing at the girl's legs. "Snake bites. What I can tell from the autopsy, it was a poisons snakebite. I hope that death was quick for the girl because it must have hurt a lot. I gave Abby some samples to test for the source of the venom."

Gibbs decided to pay Abby a visit to see what she could tell him. He was surprised to only find McGee at the lab. He pointed to all the Caff-Pows and said simply "Bathroom."

One of her machines started beeping but before McGee could look at the results Abby came running back in to push him away from his machine

"Back-off Timmy" She yelled at him before turning to Gibbs. "Ducky was right. She died from a poisonous bite from a lowland copperhead. The concentration as so high she must have died very quickly. Which is good, since it would have been really painful."

McGee's face frowned. "Lowland copperheads? They live in Australia or something. How did the killer find one?"

"Well, McBoyscout, let's find out." Tony answered. "I will call all the local petstores" Tony said.

"I will stay here and go trough the rest of the files," McGee answered answered pointed at a giant stack of files. And with that everyone went back to work.

Ziva thought for a moment and talked to Gibbs: "I will find out how the snakes get in this country. Maybe they are illegal or something. I will call in some favors."

Back at the bullpen the young LEO from the crime scene. Officer G. Commers was waiting. "Special Agent Gibbs," he started. This time he didn't hesitate. "I did some research of my own and I found out that this murder was almost an exact copy of another crime scene. Similar crime, same spot."

Now the guy had everyone's attention. "11 years ago, we found a dead sailor at that same parking lot. Red hair and blue eyes. His name was Kevin Vels. The man died of snake bites." He looked down at the file, "Lowland copperhead," he said.

"Good job," Gibbs told the agent, surprised and pleased with the information.

"George" The agent introduced himself. "We handed the case of to an agent Johnson?"

"What are you waiting for?" Gibbs barked looking at Dinozzo. "Get me the damn file!"

DiNozzo couldn't find the file in the system. Case files from files older than 10 years were at the large storage locker across the street. Ziva decided to order everybody some pizza.

Chewing at a pizza sliceTony told them: "The victim was Petty Officer 3rd class Kevin Vels. They suspected that there were drugs involved. But they found nothing. Case went cold after 2 months." He swallowed and took another bite.

Ziva sighed."First eat, than talk. Please!"

Tony swallowed and continued. "Prime suspect was Theo Vonk. Some low level drug runner." McGee was typing into his computer, pulling up a picture of Vonk.

"Damnit!" Gibbs yelled. "I know that guy. I put him away for robbing a marine."

McGee typed something more in his computer. "Released 3 weeks ago, Last known address is here in Washington." Gibbs wrote down the address.

"McGee, you're with me!" Leaving the other agents behind Gibbs gave them a task. "Find me a damn connection!"

"Is it me, or is Gibbs getting nicer every day?" Tony asked, earning himself a head slap from Ziva.

They all started to work but they found no connection at all. His prison time ended early because of good behavior. After that, there was nothing, not even a speeding ticket. And that was scary, because they would have nothing to tell to Gibbs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When he arrived Tim noticed that it was a nice house. Two story building, garden with lots of flowers surrounded by a white fence."One day, I want a house like this," McGee thought, but he wasn't sure Abby would go for it. He stood still. Why did his dreams about the future always involve Abby? They were not even dating. He didn't know.

Ringing the doorbell got them no response, but suddenly they heard sounds of a struggle. Without hesitation Gibbs burst trough the door and shouted: "Federal Agent!" They discovered that the sounds came from a DVD that was playing. If he had been there, Tony would have known the exact movie.

There was an old couch and a TV in the living room. They could see that the kitchen was also very plainly decorated. There was a table and two seats, that had seen better times. 'Clear the house' Gibbs signed to McGee. McGee went in to the first room on his rightHe was about to turn the corner when something grabbed him. The last thing he remembered was the smell of chloroform.

Gibbs checked the left side of the house and found that it was clear. He went back in the hallway right in time to see a car drive away at full speed. He drew his gun and ran outside, but the car had already disappeared out of sight. Suddenly, he realized that there was no sign of McGee. He hurried back inside to look for his junior agent. In a small bedroom he found McGee's shoes, his badge, his gun and a note:

_Very Special Agent Gibbs,_

_That's right, I took your senior field agent. Just like you took my freedom._

_Get used to the idea that you won't be seeing him ever again. Alive anyway. _

_It was nice speaking to you._

_Theo Vonk._

Gibbs cursed, this SOB had thought he had it planned out, but expected him to bring DiNozzo, not McGee. This could be to their advantage. He could still smell a trace of chloroform in the room. Quickly he flipped his phone open to contact the rest of his team. When DiNozzo answered, he instructed him to get the team together and put his phone on speaker.

That was done quickly, because everyone was already in the bullpen,including Ducky who had arrived to speak with Jethro about something. "We were set up." Gibbs waited a second to continue. "he expected us, and he took McGee."

He heard Abby going crazy in the background, and Ducky calming her. "David, DiNozzo, get your asses over here. Ducky, George get me a profile on this guy. Abby, go trace McGee's cellphone." With that he ended the connection and went back in the house to see what evidence he had missed.

The thirty minute trip took just twenty minutes with Ziva driving. Tony felt a little nauseas by the time they arrived, but he kept it together.

They found Gibbs inside the house, talking to Abby on the phone. "So you have fix on his cell? Great job Abs. We will bring him home!"

When Gibbs saw Ziva and Tony he told them that he called Johnson's team in to investigate the house. "Abby has a fix on McGee's phone, the information is on you PDI -thingy," he said, looking at DiNozzo. The three of them rushed back to the car, ready to fight for their teammate.

McGee had no clue where he was. He was blindfolded and to his embarrassment, he had no clothes on. He tried to use his other senses to determine where he was. He felt cold, like he was lying on stone. His hands were tied together. He couldn't hear anything and the complete silence was freaking him out. That made him chuckle a bit. Here he was, tied up, blindfolded and naked on a floor, but it was the silence that was freaking him out. Continuing his investigation, he found he could smell something. It reminded him a bit of a basement, like wet paper and garbage.

All of a sudden he heard a door was opening, and closing again. There was a pause, then another door, the door to his room,opened. McGee heard somebody walking around him. The steps sounded heavy, probably a man.

"Who are you?" McGee asked, trying to sound as brave as he could. The man laughed at him like he made a hilarious joke, then suddenly stopped.

"You are not DiNozzo." The man barked at him. He was angry. McGee could hear him walk around again. "This is not what I planned, you are not Tony, you are that nerd!' The last part sounded so much like an accusation that it threw McGee off guard.

"Nothing knew there," he thought. "But, why does it matter so much to this man?" McGee could have sworn that that Gibbs was the one this man was after.

Gibbs was driving and, once again, Tony tried not to feel sick again. Driving with Ziva and Gibbs in one morning was a bit much for him. The address Abby gave them was at an old paper factory. Gibbs instructed his team to stay together. This man was obviously after them and they'd already lost McGee. They decided to use the back door entrance. Before they went in Tony called Abby to see if he could get an even better location for McGee, but Abby only told him that she could do no miracles.

The door was unlocked. When they entered with their guns drawn the first thing they saw was a large television screen. What was on the screen was shocking: a naked McGee, blindfolded, scared and beaten up.

The man now whispered to McGee. "Your team is going to be too late. They were stupid enough to let you get kidnapped. They don't care about you." A series of beeping sounds interrupted him. "Well that's a surprise! Our visitors have arrived." Tim had no idea what he was talking about, he could only guess that the team was there.

Suddenly, the man hit McGee with a metal pipe. "Nooooo!" Tim gasped for air as he felt the pipe hitting him hard on his abdomen. He was scared and had no idea why this man wanted to torture him.. He couldn't help howling as the metal pipe kept hitting him, on his back, on his head, on his feet. The pain was so intense, he could no longer stay conscious. As he lost consciousness, his last thought surprised him: 'Abby!'

Gibbs watched the screen and the torture suffered by McGee with growing anger. Suddenly the screen went black and the all of them came back to reality with a snap.

They searched the building as quick as they could. Ziva tried using all her Ninja senses but Theo had put different music in every room, which made it more difficult to orientate in the building. In the last room they found McGee, surrounded by blood and still unconscious

Gibbs ran to McGee, not bothering to check if the room was empty. "I've got a pulse" Gibbs said.

Tony had already dialed 911. "Medics are on the way, boss."

Gibbs cursed again, that son of a bitch got away. "DiNozzo, David, search for evidence – and stay together, whatever happens.. I will wait with McGee and call head quarters. And please be careful."

Tony and Ziva shot each other a confused look. Gibbs saying please and telling them to be careful? Right now, however, they didn't care.

Gibbs had covered McGee with his jacket, but there was not much he could do for his agent until the medics arrived. He called Abby to give her an update. "Abby, it's Gibbs. We found McGee."

He waited for the chatter he expected of his favorite forensic scientist, but it remained quiet. "He is alive, Abs, injured but alive."

That started Abby talking. "Oh, Gibbs, I was so scared! What happened, can I talk to him? Where is he? Is he at the hospital?" Gibbs let Abby go on while he guided the ambulance personal to McGee and watched them work. As they prepared McGee for transport to the hospital,

he told Abby that he had to hang up but he let her know as soon as he found something out. He rode with Tim to the hospital, and followed the gurney to the doors of the emergency room, but the staff wouldn't let him go any further.

He just stood there for a while, looking into the ER. He felt like he left his agent alone for the second time in one day. Then he decided to call Abby and Ducky.

He had been pacing around for at least and half hour, insulted one docter and two nurses before he saw the NCIS car arriving in the parkinglot.

He could hear Abby before she rushed trough the door. She was sobbing loudly, somehow making what was happening even more dramatic then before. When she entered, she didn't pace around like she usually did. Instead, she set herself on Gibbs' lab, wound arms around his neck and stayed there, crying. This was not at all what Gibbs' expected, buthe closed his arms around her and held her to make her feel safe.

He saw Ducky talking and flirting with an older nurse, trying to get some information. To his surprise, he saw Jimmy and, behind Jimmy, he saw George. Gibbs smiled for briefly. George seemed like a good guy. Maybe he could settle him somewhere at NCIS.

Still holding Abby, he talked to Ducky "How is he Duck? They wouldn't speak to me."

"Well" Ducky started. "All I got was a promise to be the first to get information, and a phone number." And with that, he sat down, next to Jimmy,leaving George the only one standing. "Sit down, my boy." Ducky invited the kid. "There is nothing you can change by standing there."

And so the little group sat there. Seconds became minutes and minutes became hours. Finally, after three long hours, which felt like days, a doctor came in. "Who is here for Agent McGee?" He asked.

You could see his surprise when everyone in the little room stood up. "We all are." Ducky said, taking the lead. The doctor started with a little cough, making him look more anxious. "We did everything we could..."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Chapter 3 is replaced with a beta-ed one, so read that one first again. And have fun with this chapter.

**Chapter 4**

Gibbs' gut clenched. McGee, could he be...? Abby hung on to him for dear life, about to break down. Before his imagination could run any further away with him, the doctor continued.

"He crashed on the table but we were able to bring him back. He has several serious injures; a concussion, three broken ribs, the cuboid in his left foot is broken, and he has a torn spleen. He also has a lot of bruises, burns and flesh wounds."

Abby sensed a 'but' to this story and almost started talking, but Gibbs signed to her to wait.

"The pain Agent McGee should feel right now is very high. Too high to allow him to start healing properly. So we have put him in a drug induced coma to give his body a better chance at recovery. We've done all that we can at this point, but, I'm sorry, we are not sure if he is going to make it."

Ducky, who had listened patiently started to ask some questions ."Can we see him?"

"The doctor nodded in approval. "He might be in a coma, but he can still hear you."

Gibbs looked at the doctor, his face looking dead serious. "How are his chances?"

"The doctor remained silent. "I honestly don't know," he answered. "It is all up to Agent McGee from here."

Gibbs wanted to be the first to visit Tim. He didn't tell the others why, but he felt the need to apologize for letting Tim down. Though he hadn't told anyone on the team, he had dealt with this criminal before and he should have seen this coming. He felt he owed McGee an apology. As he started to go into the McGee's room, he saw Tony and Ziva arrive and begin questioning Ducky and comforting Abby.

When he entered the room he looked over to the bed. Lying there, in the big white bed made McGee look young and vulnerable. "How old is he anyway?" Gibbs wondered, "he doesn't look old enough to order a beer." Thinking about Tim always made him felt a little weird. He saved this 'geek' from his geeky-world and was working on turning him into a full-blown field agent. Had he not done that, McGee would probably be somewhere safe right now.

Gibbs pulled a chair over next to his bed, and sat there for a couple of minutes waiting, not knowing what to say. "I let you down McGee," he started with a sigh. He hated apologies, but he knew this one had to be made.

"I should have known that something was off, with the DVD playing and the sounds. We should have been together." He stopped talking again and just sat there, thinking about his junior agent. After half an hour he heard a soft knock on the door.

Tony was standing there. "Boss, can we talk to you for a sec?"

"I will sit with him," Gibbs heard Ducky from behind Tony. "Ah, well my boy, you remind me of a case, more than 26 years ago," Ducky started when he took a seat next to McGee.

Gibbs was sure that Ducky would be a nice company for McGee. He followed Tony to an empty exam room, and was surprised to find that the rest of the team was already there.

"We found his hiding place. It was next to the building where we found our probie. We have full time surveillance and Vance put Johnson's team on getting this bastard," he coughed a little. "Ducky also put together a brief profile about Vonk's personality " he said while looking throught his notes, then pausedwhen his phone rang. "Be right back," he said. The team waited, silently, not knowing what to say to one another.

When DiNozzo entered the room a little while later he looked several shades paler than when he went out. "Later," he told the concerned faces.

Grabbing the notes he picked up where he left off. "According to Ducky, this man is probably an only child, or was raised as one, Ducky couldn't be sure about this. He's used to getting what he wants. He is smart, -marter then we give him credit for. His grades show that he always got straight A's at school. Captain of the Chess team and one of the first to work with computers. A geek. "

Tony took a second to take a look at the notes. "Oh yeah, here it sayshe bonds immediately with the people he feels are like him. And probably hates all the others in the world. When we searched his house we found that he did a extended research about us, and the people we work with, not only Abby and Ducky but also the mailmen and the your caffeine dealer boss. " Looking at Gibbs he smiled. "You knew he is building a boat in his backyard?" Gibbs shot him a death glare, shutting Tony up.

DiNozzo continued quickly about the subject he should be talking about. "I just got a call from Agent Johnson's junior agent, Agent Meryl. The building where we found McGee had a torture dungeon. Very well hidden. McGee was lucky this bastard didn't have him any longer, The person who was going to be tortured there was in for a hell of a time. Anyway. There was a giant cake, that said. Welcome Agent DiNozzo. Implying, again, that he planned on taking me."

He took a deep breath and looked at the team. Ziva's face was red with anger. Abby looked even more pale that usual, and Gibbs, well with Gibbs you never know what he's thinking.

"According to Ducky's profile, I probably remind him of some guy that used to pull pranks on him in his college days. Ducky thinks he might have killed me if you had taken me with you instead of McGee, boss."

"I think he couldn't kill McGee because he felt that McGee was much like him. And killing one of his own would be hard." Jimmy said.

"Ziva," Gibbs said in his no nonsense voice. "You are on protection detail for Tony. You follow him wherever he goes, even if he has to take a dump." Ziva nodded obediently, not exactly knowing what 'taking a dump' meant, but understanding what Gibbs was saying. Barging out of the room Gibbs decided that it would be nice for Vance if the poor men knew what was going on in his agency.

Jimmy, who felt sorry for McGee, decided to take the next shift. He gently asked Dr. Mallard to leave and took the seat next to McGee's bed. He didn't say anything for a few minutes. Then he explained. "You may like this silence," He said, "since Doctor Mallard was here before me." He continued to be silent for a few more minutes.

Then he started talking. Not about how sorry he felt, or about how they would catch the guy. No Jimmy decided to talk about something completely different. So he talked about this thing he liked to do most: Fishing. He talked a bit, and then waited. It was almost like he wanted to give McGee an opportunity to answer. He was surprised how hard it was, he was used to talk to the dead, but the living was something else.

Gibb's returned from talking to Vance, and told his team they should go home, remind Ziva that she was to go with Tony. Ducky followed Gibb's suggestion, since he had already seen McGee and his mother was waiting for him. However, the others refused. Despite the fact that it was very late, their team-mate was more important than a decent night's sleep. Gibb's nodded in approval. This was more than a team, they were a surrogate family.

Tony asked to be the next to visit with McGee and the others agreed. When he was sitting next to the bed, Tony felt awkward. "I own you one," he said. "If the guy caught me, like he intended to, I'd most likely be dead by now, you know, just like in that movie" But he stopped talking before he made his point. This wasn't a movie, this was very, very real.

Tony grabbed McGee's hand, feeling a little ackward,but he told himself, that this was pure friendship and nothing more. "I was afraid, you know, when you came on Gibbs' team. Thought he didn't want me anymore and was going to kick me off of the team. You are so much smarter than me. So all the teasing, it was nothing more than making sure Gibbs' noticed that you weren't perfect. But now, you are like the little brother I never wanted. I love you McGee, in a very manly way, of course."

Tony suddenly released McGee's hand. "Wow, that was very Brokeback Mountain," he thought. He decided to make some small talk about the case, the torture dungeon and everything. "Well I've got to go McGee, hang in there. It kills me to see you this way. It is not so much fun to play pranks on you now, you know!" And with a pat on the shoulder he left the room.

Ziva stood at the door guarding the room. "Will you please wait with Gibbs?", she asked, "I would like to talk to McGee." Tony felt the need to tell her he could watch himself, but she looked so vulnerable that he walked to there waiting room where he knew Gibbs would be.

Ziva walked to the chair and grabbed Tim's hand before she even sat down. "I should have told you this before," she said. There was a tear sparkling in her eye. "I had a little brother, he was just like you. Very smart and a little awkward in social situations. I loved him with all my heart. Jacob was his name. One day, he was cycling around our house. Suddenly a car raced around the corner and hit him. His body was completely broken. He was in a coma in the hospital for 4 long years. Everything about a hospital reminds me of him, and it is killing me to see you lying there, because Tim,I love you as much as it is possible to love a friend, or even a family member."

Having told him that was a load off her mind. She suddenly noticed that she was stroking his hand gently. "You know what the crazy thing is about this?" she asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer. "I know that you are going to come out of this coma, because it is just the drugs that are keeping you that way. But it feels so real."

Ziva sat there for at least a half hour, not saying anything but simply holding his hand. "I should go," she said, "Abby is waiting to talk to you." She pressed a kiss to his head and left the room.

It took Abby a while to get the courage to go into the room. She saw that Ziva, the person she had accused of having no feelings at all, had been crying. Tony did not look to good and even Palmer looked very depressed when he left the room. And she, Abby, was usual the first one to lose it herself.

When she pressed the door open she was slightly shocked by what she saw. McGee, her Timmy, was lying in that big hospital bed surrounded by beeping machines. He looked so vulnerable that it scared the hell out of her. "It's me, Timmy," she said walking into the room. "You look very geeky," she said pointing to all the machines. "Aliens would love you," she pushed the chair aside and climbed onto McGee's bed. Curling up next to him instantly made her feel better.

"You know Timmy, today I thought I was going to lose you. It was the most awful day of my life. I lost Kate, Paula, Jenny and well, many more. But losing you…almost losing you made me realize how much I love you. Yes McGee, I love you more than puppies. I love you a whole lot more than puppies. And that should tell you something, because I really love puppies. If I ever want to get married, you are my man. You are handsome, believe in chivalry and so very, very smart. I am not saying that I want to get married. Because I don't believe in marriage. But maybe we can start dating again. You know, go to concerts, LAN parties, kissing. All the usual dating stuff. Because, if I ever have to lose you, I want to know that I had the best man a woman can wish for herself. And I want to be the best girl you ever can have." After this statement she started sobbing. Her mascara trailed down her face, leaving black marks on his bedsheets.

After an hour she felt better. "I am going to leave now Timmy. Tomorrow I will be at my lab, if you wake up, please call me. I will visit you again tomorrow. I promise, but we have to catch this bastard first." Kissing him on his cheek, Abby climbed of the bed and left Tim's room.

When everybody had visited McGee, Gibbs ordered them home. It was a very long day and tomorrow they had to catch that bastard even if they had to work together with Johnson's team to do it, he thought. "Go home, get some sleep. I will see every one of you tomorrow, 8:00 sharp."

By looking at him his team knew that there was no room for an argument there. As the other's left, Gibb's was surpised to see George sneak off to McGee's room. Curious he decided to listen at the door.

George opened the door, unsure of what he was going to do, or say. Taking a seat next to the bed he started. "Hello Timothy. I am George, remember me? I would not be made if you don't. But I just wanted to tell you that you have to get better." He sighed. "I want to be on Gibbs' team" he said bluntly. "But I didn't want it to be like this" he said. "What I saw today is unique, strange, but it felt good. You guys are like a really odd family. But you work well together. I wish I could be you. But I also want you to get better, for the sake of your family. "

He didn't know how to continue so he stopped talking. He just sat there and stared at Tim for a long moment. "Take care," he said and left.

Gibbs sneaked away when he saw the George coming to the door. He had to admit, he was surprised by this kid. Talking to an agent he barely knows. He reminded him of DiNozzo, he was not sure yet if this was a good or bad thing.

A/N O ye of little faith, did you really think i could kill of McGee? Please make my happy and review.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

McGee was just lying there. He knew he was in a drug induced coma; one of the nurses had mentioned it while she was caring for him. He couldn't see or speak but otherwise, he felt fully conscious. He also felt a little dizzy, and very happy. "Definitely the drugs," he thought. It was freaking him out a bit, but he felt better when the nurses came in to check on him and talked to him.

The nurse told him that if he came out of the coma right now, he would be in too much pain to heal properly. A few days in this drug-induced state, and then his body would be able to cope better with only the milder pain medications.

A few hours after he was admitted, he suddenly heard the door open and close. He heard no footsteps but instinctively knew it was Gibbs. "I let you down McGee" Gibbs said.

Tim was very surprised. Of all the things he'd come to expect from his boss, nothing close to this was on his list. He listened and wished he could wake up, just for one second, so he could tell Gibbs that it was not his fault. It was impossible to see this coming; not even Ziva, with her ninja senses, would have known. His boss continued to sit there for a while, leaving only when someone knocked on the door.

It was Ducky. He sat next to the bed and told Tim a little something about his injures and how he would heal just fine. Then he launched into telling a story. Tim let Ducky's voice wash over him and felt safe enough to start dozing off.

When he woke up again, he heard Jimmy talking. McGee smiled a little in his head. He wasn't best friends with Palmer, but he could always count on the kid. McGee listened closely; was Jimmy really talking about fishing? Well, not much surprised Tim anymore. Jimmy could be even more of a geek than Tim sometimes, but that was okay.

When Palmer left, Tim was wondering who would come and visit next, or if anyone would come and visit at all. After all, it must have been way past midnight at this point. A nurse came in and introduced herself as Emmy, his nurse for the night. She spoke to him as she changed his bandages, letting him know that she would be checking on him throughout the night and that he should just get as much rest as possible. She finished settling him and quietly left.

The nurse was soon replaced by another visitor. Tim had no idea who it was until he started talking. "I owe you one." Tony did not actually say 'probie' but Tim could hear him think it. After that Tony started talking about other stuff. About when Tim first joined the team, and about Tony teasing him. How he was the little brother Tony never wanted. Tim laughed at that. That sounded just like Tony.

He was stunned when Tony told him he loved him. That, along with the whole hand stroking thing, made Tim a little uncomfortable. He was happy when Tony let go of his hand. Then Tony started making small talk about the case.

Tim was full of disbelief as he listened to the story about Vonk and his plan. He was happy that he had taken this blow for Tony. He loved the man as a brother and dear friend and it would have killed him to know that Tony was dead. Tony came to the end of his story and left Tim with a pat on the shoulder

Ziva was next, and her visit proved to be very surprising. He expected her to be cold and distant, the way she always handled personal situations, but he heard her sobbing. Tim started to really hate this coma thing. He wanted to hug Ziva and tell her everything would be alright. But he couldn't.

"I should have told you before," she started.

As she told him about her geeky little brother, Tim felt sorry for Ziva, but he couldn't figure out exactly why his situation affected her so much until she told him about the coma Jacob had been in. At this point, he became even more frustrated with his coma; he wanted so badly to tell Ziva that he would wake up, that he would not die, but he couldn't. Tim felt like crying too, but the coma wouldn't even let him do that. He could only lay there and listen.

Next came Abby, who was surprisingly very calm. Tim had expected that she would be freaking out over what happened to him, and was vaguely disappointed that she wasn't. "Perhaps the doctors drugged her a little," he thought.

He was not surprised, however, when he felt her climb onto his bed. As she snuggled next to him, he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms. "You know Timmy, today I thought I was going to lose you. It was the most awful day of my life. I lost Kate, Paula, Jenny and well, many more. But losing you…almost losing you made me realize how much I love you…"

While Abby talked, Tim was trying to process what she was saying. She wanted to date again? He was very surprised. She was the one that had ended their relationship in the first place, and now it seemed that she wanted to get back together. He didn't know if he was ready for that. Their first breakup had been bad enough. If he let himself fall for her again, he'd be even more heartbroken if it didn't work out. This confused him even more, because when thought he was facing death, the only thing he could think of was Abby.

"...if I ever have to lose you, I want to know that I had the best men a woman can wish for herself. And I want to be the best girl you ever had." Tim smiled inside. So this wasn't about him, it was about her. He listened while she sobbed and knew her mascara was leaving black marks in his sheets. The nurse would be surprised to find that, but he didn't really care. Abby stayed curled up next to him, sobbing, for a long time, and again, Tim felt angry that he couldn't comfort her. Eventually, the crying stopped and Abby got up to leave. Promising him that they would catch Vonk, she gave Tim a kiss and left. He could feel his cheek glowing for a long time after that.

He wasn't surprised when no one came in after Abby left. It must have been really late by this time and the entire team had already visited. It might already be morning for all he knew. Tim decided that he would try to sleep; thinking could wait until later. He smiled inside. Like he could do anything besides sleeping and thinking.

Just as he was on the edge of falling asleep, he heard someone else enter the room. "Probably a nurse," he thought. But then the person sat down next to the bed. "Hello Timothy. I am George, remember me? I would not be mad if you don't. But I just wanted to tell you that you have to get better."

George? The nervous probie cop? Tim was surprised; this was one visit he hadn't expected. Well, it was nice of him, but why did George feel the need to visit? "I want to be on Gibbs' team," George continued. Well, that McGee understood, not all that long ago he had been very eager to join Gibbs' team himself. Sometimes, when he ended up in situations like this, however, he wondered if any good came of it.

Suddenly McGee freaked a little out. Was the guy going to kill him for his spot on Gibbs' team? He listened to George talking. About his team, how they were really strange but still worked so well together. "Take care," Sommers said and left, leaving McGee with his thoughts.

A plan started forming in McGee's mind. He added Vance to the list of people he had to talk with when he finally came out of this coma. Satisfied, he fell into a dreamless sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thank you all so much for all of your reviews! They always make my day. **

**I know that this is a very, very small chapter. And It is the best I can do. For the next two and a half week I am going to work 60 hours a week to pay for my school next year, so I don't know when I am going to update again.**

**Chapter 6**

The next morning wasn't bright and shiny at all. Abby had a hard time dragging herself out of her coffin. Usually she loved going to work, but today was going to be awful. She felt it in her gut.

Feeling tired and out of sorts, she put on some clothes. She picked her funeral outfit because work without Tim was nearly as sad as a funeral. She completed her sad look with makeup that was even more somber than usual. She tried to eat some breakfast but found that she couldn't swallow. Putting the bowl cereal aside, she left for work.

When she arrived at the lab, she flipped through her music, looking for something to fit her mood; which today was sad and dark. Virgin Black it was. As she heard the first tones of Requim, Kyrie kick in, she found that it made her feel a little better. Comforted, she could now attack this horrible evidence; she would give everything she could for her Timmy.

She decided to start with the blood first, hoping that some of it was from the attacker. Her gut clenched, however, when every one of the blood samples turned out to be McGee's. She continued with evidence from the first crime scene, hoping for better luck.

When Gibbs came in at 9 am she had already been working for two long hours. Happy to have a distraction, she accepted the caff-pow and told Gibbs she had nothing yet.

"You can't rush science, Gibbs! You can yell at it - but you can't make it work faster." And, with that, she demanded Gibbs leave her alone so she could continue working. He could come back in a few hours with another caff-pow, - or, as usual, when his gut told him to.

A few minutes later an alarm sounded over the entire Navy Yard. Abby was frightened and hurried to the bullpen to be protected by Gibbs. This could be the thing her gut had been warning her about all day long.

She was stopped at the top of the stairs by a terrifying sight. There he was. Theo Vonk, with a very, very, very big gun. A M14 45mm caliber. And, even worse, he had the gun pointed at Gibbs and DiNozzo. The guys were trapped, with Gibbs standing in front of Tony. Vonk could easily kill them both with one shot. Yard security came to clear the area and hurried Abby away, evacuating her and the others to a secure building nearby.

When Abby found Ducky, she could only hug him and cry. First, there was whole thing with McGee in the hospital and now this freak with a gun. It was just too much. Ducky just hugged the goth and tried to convince her that everything would be alright. It was a difficult task, considering he couldn't even convince himself.

A/N i am sooo mean...


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter is dedicated to Renee, the beta of my first 3 chapters!**

**Chapter 7**

When the alarm sounded, Tony pulled the security details up on the plasma. The team saw that there was a security breach at the entrance, but quickly returned to work. A potential security breach wasn't really uncommon, occasionally some freak tried to burst through the gates.

Their attitude changed immediately when a man came running into the bullpen with a rifle. "A M14," Gibbs thought, recognizing it immediately. A glance at the man confirmed that this was the man they have looking for. Despite the seriousness of the situation, that caused DiNozzo to chuckle. "This may be the first time someone we are looking for comes to us," he thought.

"You think this is funny?" the man started yelling. His face was red with anger and his voice was pitched at least one octave higher than usual. "None of this is funny," he continued, waving the rifle around. "You took my freedom. I only robbed that stupid ass because I needed to eat."

The man's breathing was labored. When Gibbs took a closer look at the man, he saw that his clothes were covered in blood.

"I am really sorry I had to put McGee away. He didn't deserve it, he is like me. Small, smart and tortured by his coworkers. The torture was for you." He said, changing his aim from Gibbs to DiNozzo's head. "You are one of those stupid frat boys. I hate your kind."

The other people in the bullpen slowly started to evacuate. The man was only interested in DiNozzo and Gibbs so they were able to safely get away. Ziva, on the other hand, couldn't leave her team. She concealed herself in the cubicle behind the man.

"You took my freedom. I am going to take your life!" the man continued to rant.

With NCIS under attack, the FBI arrived to assist. They sent a hostage negotiator but Vonk took a shot at the man. His shot went far wide, but it was enough to convince the negotiator to retreat.

Gibbs decided to let the men vent for a while. "That girl, Ryanne, she didn't deserve to die," Vonk told them, "but it was all to serve a bigger purpose. Torturing you!"

He spook with so much rage that it infuriated Gibbs. Using another person, a child, to torture him. That was so sick. He felt DiNozzo put a hand on his back to calm him down. If he let his anger take over, he'd just be feeding into this man's madness. He gave a little nod to DiNozzo, letting his senior agent know that he was under control.

Ziva was now right behind the man. Looking Gibbs in the eye she saw he wanted this guy alive. She couldn't decide if she should throw her knife or fire her gun. Firing her gun would bring the FBI blazing in and probably result in the death of the suspect. Ziva wasn't completely opposed to that. She would like to snap his little neck herself, but, she decided, prison would be a greater hell for this man. And he deserved hell. He deserved anything beyond hell. She decided using her gun was out of the question, so she would be attacking with her knife.

Trying to take stock of the situation, she focused on Vonk's gun and saw that the safety was on. She was relieved, her actions wouldn't automatically make the gun go off. Her target on his body would be critical. She could aim for his back, but couldn't be sure she wouldn't hit any vital organs. His legs or left arm were out of the question too. He would panic and start shooting. She had to hit his right arm, at the wrist. As soon as he dropped the gun she should overpower him and 'accidentally' break a bone or two, maybe three if she was lucky.

The man started pacing back and forth. But he continued pointing his gun at the two agents. His rant had become more angry. Gibbs hoped the man would cool down but instead he seemed to be feeding off his own anger.

Before he could see what was happening, a knife flew through the bullpen. Ziva's aim, as always, was accurate, hitting the man at his right wrist. Vonk dropped the gun and yelled out in pain. In a split second, Ziva was on him, pinning him to ground.

DiNozzo watched her, astonished. He loved this Ninja-Mossad thing. This definitely got him all hot and bothered. She looked so small and fragile, but she was more deadly than your average poisonous snake. His reflections were interrupted by a loud crack. Vonk cried out in pain. DiNozzo chuckled. Ziva 'accidentally' broke a bone.

In a few seconds the squadroom was filled with FBI agents. They swarmed the bullpen, securing the weapon, wanting to take Vonk with them. Gibbs wasn't about to let that happen. "He is my freaking suspect!" he yelled at Fornell, spitting him in the face. "He already admitted to the murder of Ryanne Star. It's an open and shut case. I have him for that, and for torturing McGee."

At that moment the, Gibbs was interrupted by the doors flying open and a black flash jumping at him. "Are you okay? You are, did he hurt you?" Abby exclaimed.

The doors opened again and Ducky and Palmer came in with emergency medical equipment. Checking on Gibbs and DiNozzo first, they assured themselves that both men were completely fine.

After that they had to check Vonk. The wrist wasn't too bad damaged, no permanent injury. There was a broken rib and his left arm was also at a strange angle. "It must have happened when he felt down," Gibbs said.

"I believe so," Ducky said.

All of a sudden Abby let go of Gibbs. "You!" she yelled, pointing at Vonk. "You beat up McGee?" Her eyes were cold as ice. "I should kill you. With a very slow and untraceable toxin."

Gibbs dragged her away from Vonk, but before she left she managed to kick him in the groin. Vonk squirmed in pain, ready to pass out. Ducky refused to give the man painkillers.

"It's okay, Abs," Gibbs continued to calm her. "He will be put to prison for life. We already have a confession." And with that Gibbs was almost done with this case.

"I still want to interrogate this guy," he said to the guards who where going to take him to the hospital. "I am getting too old for the crap," he thought, before stepping out of NCIS.

Abby and Gibbs decided to get some caffeine and go visit McGee to let him know what happened.

When they entered his room they where surprised to see the cyber crime unit from the sub-basement. "We, uhm... we. Well, we had to leave the building. So we decided to check on our ex-boss."

Hearing those geeks call McGee 'boss' still sounded wrong to both Abby and Gibbs, but they seemed fine with it for the moment.

"The building is cleared, go back." Gibbs said to the three men, who were now very nervous about meeting this legend in real life. The fact that Gibbs was talking to them didn't make things any better. They ran out of the room as fast as they could.

"Hey McGee, here we are. It's me and Gibbs," Abby said. "You wouldn't believe what happened today!" She took a breath. "Vonk managed somehow to get in the bullpen with a giant rifle. He had it pointing at Gibbs and Tony. But Ziva went all Ninja on his ass. And then broke his rib, and his arm. I think she did it for you."

Abby smiled, Ziva was really nice in her own way. "Anyway, I made a copy of the security tape, so we can watch it if you wake up."

"I am going to find his doctor." Gibbs said to Abby. "Talk to him."

When Gibbs left the room Abby didn't know what to say anymore. She felt a little uncomfortable after her confession last night. The goth sat there for several minutes before standing up, looking for something in her purse.

Abby found the mini-frankenbaby she was looking for. "It always brings me luck" she said tucking the frankenbaby under his sheet.

"His name is Frank. Frank, please make sure McGee wakes up." she told the little green creature. "You have to wake up McGee, I need you! And…and Jetho needs you. I've been taking care of him for the last day, but he misses you. He won't eat or play, and I am his favorite. And the team, hell, the entire agency needs you."

She was talking about everything that was happening at NCIS, how Harry, the night janitor had dropped Vance's toothpicks and he was scared to death that he would be fired. And how Agent Johnson was going to retire.

She was just about to read him an article she wrote for a new forensic journal when Gibbs came back in. To her surprise the entire team followed him, and they were closely followed by Tim's doctor.

"Agent McGee is making great progress. Tomorrow evening, we can start bringing him out of his coma. You can be here if you want to. But when he is awake, he cannot receive more than one visitor at the time, during visiting hours".

Abby started jumping, "Oh doctor!" she cried out and before anyone could stop her, she was crushing the doctor in a hug. He tried to push Abby away but that didn't really work. Gibbs and Tony stepped in to remove Abby from the medic who had started to look a little bit blue.

"We have to interrogate Vonk but tomorrow we will come visit you, probie!" Tony said cheerfully. "Maybe I can break another bone" Ziva whispered to Tim in his ear. Gibbs heard that and smiled. He made a mental note that he needed to watch Ziva around the Vonk, too many more broken bones would make people suspicious.

With his team together, he told them to go home. "Tomorrow will be a busy day. Go get some sleep. Ziva, you're off protection detail."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next morning Gibbs took Tony with him to the interrogation room. The others, including Ducky, and Jimmy went to the observation room. Before entering Gibbs took Tony aside.

"He is a bastard, you know that, I know that. We only have to get him to confess again. After that you can play a little with his mind if you want to." Opening the door Gibbs let DiNozzo go in first. He motioned for the guards to leave the room, but stay at the door.

Gibbs took a seat across the table from Vonk but DiNozzo stood in the corner of the interrogation room. "Here we are again." Gibbs said, waiting for the man to respond. When he didn't answer Gibbs continued. "Something you want to say or ask?"

"I want a lawyer," Vonk said. After that he remained silent.

"Too bad," DiNozzo said. "Running around with a gun in a federal building qualifies you as a terrorist. And terrorists don't get lawyers!" He couldn't have look happier when he said that. The last thing they needed in this case was a hot shot lawyer in a fancy suit.

DiNozzo started to walk behind the man. But he was careful to stay in the man's blind spot. "So, Theo, tell me. Why did you want revenge on Gibbs?" DiNozzo whispered creating a little bit of tension.

Gibbs sat back and watched his senior agent play with the men. "He took my freedom," Theo answered angrily.

"Ah, yeah I see." DiNozzo answered, "but, and correct me if I am wrong, you took something first didn't you? Because the wallet they found on you back then? Definitely not yours."

He walked to the other side of the table and sat beside Gibbs. "Why didn't you kill McGee? Wasn't that your plan?"

"No!" Vonk said angrily. "You I wanted to kill." He pointed at Tony. "You're just like all the other bastard's I've known. Cold, heartless and don't appreciate what you have."

Tony pulled up an eyebrow. "Care to explain?" he asked the man a little confused.

"You get all the woman you want. You never have to try hard. You are charming and handsome. Nothing I will ever be."

The men rested his head on the table, looking very frustrated. Gibbs was just about to ask another question when he got a message on his PDA. 'Got some important evidence, meet me now please! Abs.'

Showing the message to DiNozzo he signaled that Tony could continue the interrogation. Tony wasn't in the mood to ask questions so he pulled out his cellphone and started playing a game instead.

When Gibbs entered the lab he was surprised to see Agent Commers again. "George" He said. It sounded a little bit harsh to Abby, so she punched his arm.

"Be nice. Without him I wouldn't even have noticed it," she smiled. "I analyzed the handwriting from the paper you found at the house." Abby told him.

"It was written by someone left handed. But, the man in interrogation is definitely right handed. We compared the handwriting we have for him, and get this. It is not the same guy. A little research pointed out that Theo Vonk has a twin brother. He changed his name twice and is now known as Matt Tree. The same Matt Tree who was dishonorably discharged from the Navy for drug use because a certain Ryan Star reported him. The guy you have in interrogation is Matt Tree."

Abby took a deep breath. She was so excited sometimes that she forgot to breath. Gibbs kissed Abby on the cheek and with a 'good job guys' he left.

George seemed impressed "You always talk that fast?" he said with a smile. "I can be quiet" she said in a husky voice, looking at him seductively, making George turn an interesting shade of red.

Back at interrogation, Matt was still talking about woman and how they hate him and Tony was about to break his high-score. Gibbs motioned for DiNozzo to follow him into the observation room. Once there, he briefed the team on the results Abby had found. He could see the confusion on their faces.

"It means that we have Matt Tree in interrogation. Abby is running a DNA test to confirm."

Tony swallowed. "So Theo Vonk is still on the loose?"

Before everyone really processed what Gibbs had told them, the boss man himself was already back in interrogation.

"You found out," Matt said slowly, tasting every syllable, looking at Gibbs' angry face.

Gibbs felt the need to punch that cocky smile off his face.

"I killed Ryanne because I wanted to cause her father pain. The bastard should have minded his own business. About your agent, it was fun to beat him up. He was stronger then I thought he would be."

DiNozzo stormed back in. The look on his face clearly said that he was about to kill the guy. He smashed his hands on the table and leaned dangerously close to his face.

"You think it is fun to beat up innocent people?" His face almost purple with rage.

"I assume you would like to know what happened to Theo?" Matt answered unfazed. "You will find the answer at Agent McGee's house." A nasty smile spread across his face, and he went silent.

The drive to Tim's house was silent, with both Gibbs and Tony trying to process what Matt had said. "I can't believe this!" Tony said. "Why would he want to kill me? He doesn't even know me. I am used to the fact that there are people who want to kill me, or frame me for murder, or even harm me otherwise. But, this guy…"

"I know," Gibbs said. "He'll most likely end up on a mental hospital, but he won't ever be free to walk the streets again."

Ziva, who was silent until now put her hand on Tony's shoulder. "I have your wack," she said. Tony knew that she made the mistake on purpose to cheer him up, but he was in no mood to correct her.

Once they arrived at McGee's house, they entered carefully. They searched the whole house but found nothing out of the ordinary

McGee was very uptight about his things, if something had been moved, it would have been obvious. Ziva noticed that McGee had a new message on his phone, so she decided to listen. She hoped that she didn't invade her friend's privacy too much, but they needed to know everything. The team listened to the message together.

_Mr. McGee?_

_This is Alfred Brown, the janitor. You received a package today, but you weren't home to receive it, so I took it and stored it in the basement._

_Have a nice day._

The message ended with a click. A package could mean a lot of both good and bad things. "Call EOD," Gibbs told Tony, "We are taking no risks with this thing. Ziva, you're with me."

Tony called the bomb squad and while they waited for the team Gibbs decided to have a little chat with Alfred Brown, the janitor. "Mr. Brown, what can you tell us about the package?"

"Well, Agent Gibbs, yesterday, around 9.35 in the morning, I heard someone knocking repeatedly on Mr. McGee's door. When the knocking didn't stop after a few minutes I went up to see what was going on. " He paused to drink some of his coffee.

"It was a delivery man. He was a little older thanusual, around 40 or something. He said he had a very important package for Mr. McGee. I told him that Mr. McGee was at work. I signed for the package and decided to put it in the basement. After that I left a message on his phone. "

He looked at Gibbs. "Anything thing else I can help with? I really have to go, my mother is waiting for me"

"Thank you, that's it for now, we just need your fingerprints to exclude them." Gibbs said and the men left in a hurry after Ziva took his fingerprints.

"EOD's here, Boss!" Gibbs immediately went looking for Bryan McKenzie, the leader of the bomb squad. "Bryan, always good to see you." The other man laughed, "good to see you too Gibbs." McKenzie paused for a moment then continued, "well, actually, its not usually good when its work related. I mean, explosive disposals are not the best reason for a get together."

Gibbs smiled at the thick Scottish accent of the man. "Talk to me about the case," Gibbs said.

McKenzie laughed. "We just got here; give us a little time, please."

Gibbs sat back and watched the team work. McKenzie was a great man, handsome and he really loves weird things. Gibbs had set him up on with a date with Abby, thinking that they would naturally get along. Unfortunately that went nowhere. Abby really liked the guy, but as it turned out, he was very, very gay. That was a surprise Gibbs did not see coming, he even gave himself a head slap for setting Abby up with the wrong guy.

Suddenly he noticed that McKenzie was talking again. They looked at the man to see that he seemed to be playing out a scene of some Alien Movie. "Get back to work," Gibbs barked to Tony.

After a while the men in bomb suits gave thumbs up. "Looks like it's clear. " Bryan said. Gibbs almost ran to the box. When he carefully opened the box he wasn't really surprised by what he found. Inside the box was the lifeless head of Theo Vonk.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

After calling Ducky to the crime scene, Tony was left in charge. Gibbs disappeared into thin air.

"Ziva, go talk to the janitor again. Make an appointment for him with our sketch artist." Tony said, immediately taking over from Gibbs.

"Go find Mr. Brown, got it," Ziva answered while walking away, already talking on her phone.

Tony called in a forensics team. When they arrived, he was a little surprised to find that only Palmer had come with them.

"Doctor Mallard thought I could handle it." Tony smiled; he grown like the kid. Not many people realized that he had become good friends with Palmer when Gibbs had left for Mexico.

"Well, tell me about this head." he said encouragingly.

"Well, obviously, the body is missing." Palmer answered, almost earning him a Gibbs-worthy head slap.

"Besides the obvious, Palmer!" Tony said with a smile.

"The head shows no sign of how he died, whether it was a natural death or murder." Taking the head out of the box, he continued. "It's a clean cut. It looks like it was sliced with a cheese slicer or something like that. Vonk was most likely dead before he was decapitated."

"Too bad," Ziva murmured.

"I'll take this with me" Palmer said pointing to the head. "Go find me a body to go with it!"

Ziva was startled by Palmer's orders and looked at Tony with huge eyes. She couldn't understand why he didn't smack Jimmy on the head.

"The janitor will be in to meet with the sketch artist as early as possible tomorrow morning. First, he has to make breakfast for his mother."

Tony wasn't surprised at all by that revelation. The man seemed unnaturally attached to his mother. It didn't take the forensics team long to process scene, and they didn't find much. No fingerprints on McGee's door, only a few fingerprints on the box, which were probably from the janitor. That was it. Tony whistled. "Let's go back to HQ!"

It was then that Tony and Ziva noticed Gibbs had taken the car and left them stranded. "That means that we have to drive back with the forensics team," Tony said, pretending he was close to crying. They would definitely have to sit in the back of the truck. But at least it was a ride back to headquarters.

Abby jumped on processing the fingerprints as soon as they came in. "Where is Gibbs?" she asked with her foot tapping the ground, impatient for the results.

Tony thought about that for a minute. He came to the conclusion that he didn't have any idea where his boss had disappeared to. "Dunno Abs, watcha got?"

"Well, every fingerprint on the outside of the box was from the janitor of course. But, at the end of the day, no criminal is going to outsmart a forensic scientist! There was a big fat fingerprint underneath the stamps!" She almost radiated joy at the pronouncement.

"Awesome job Abs!" Tony said. He gave her a peck on the cheek and left. "I really hate it when he does that," Abby said with a sigh.

"Does what?" Ziva looked really confused.

"Pretends to be Gibbs," Abby answered, her back to Ziva and her attention already returned to her work.

Tony was not surprised to find Gibbs in the observation room, studying Matt Tree.

"Why did he want my involvement?" Gibbs wondered.

"The man's sick boss. I don't think he needs a good reason for it. I mean, he hated me for pete's sake."

Gibbs chuckled: "He is not the only one to do that you know..."

Gibbs' phone rang. "Gibbs," he said. Tony could hear Abby on the other end. Gibbs closed the phone without saying goodbye. "His fingerprint is the one under the stamp. We have him."

They contemplated that revelation for a couple of minutes. Finally Gibbs growled "Let's get this dirtbag."

To Tony's surprise, Gibbs headed to the bullpen instead of the interrogation room. "Call the team together, I want everyone!" Without questioning the boss, Tony called everyone. Within a half an hour everyone was present in the bullpen. Tony felt like it was going to be a long afternoon, so he also decided to order some pizzas .

Everybody was delighted to see the giant stack of pizzas arrive. Just as they were digging into their meal, Ducky returned from the hospital.

"Timothy is making great progress, I asked the doctor to wait with bringing the lad back until we are there. That way he has familiar people with him when he wakes up."

Abby was happy to hear that and hugged the ME. "So, boss man, what's your plan?" she asked curiously, releasing Ducky and settling herself on the McGee's desk, her favorite place in the bullpen.

Gibbs looked at everyone and then signaled to Ziva to put something up at the plasma. First a picture of Matt Tree appeared on the screen, then another picture popped up. It was a picture a badly beaten McGee. Abby gasped aloud and looked away,

"This man tortured McGee, he killed his brother, he killed an innocent girl, God knows what else he did. And we're going to put him away. We are going to send him to death row."

"But before that can happen we need everything on this man. And when I say everything I mean everything. DiNozzo, you go find out anything you can about this man related to his criminal record. Call in as many favors as you have to but do it. Ziva, I want you to search his house. Take some probies with you and scour it from top to bottom, pull up the floors if you have to. Abby, the forensics has to be tight."

Abby looked very disappointed. "My work is always spic and span, Gibbs!" She told him.

Not answering to her, he continued. "Palmer, autopsy that head, Johnson's team is looking for the body. And Ducky. I want you to put together a profile about this creep. Go back to the day he was born. GO! GO! GO!" Gibbs yelled at the team, adding a little extra drama.

The team scattered and went to work. They where surprised when Cynthia brought everyone coffee, Caff-pow or tea.

"For McGee," she shrugged. Abby, surprised by the gesture, treated the woman to an enthusiastic Abby-hug.

"Oh! Okay, it's my pleasure" Cynthia said, almost running away. She liked Abby, but she also liked breathing.

A few minutes before three that afternoon, everyone was back in the bullpen and ready to report.

Ziva went first. "There were traces of explosives in the house, and we also found profiles, the same type as we found at Vonk's house. I think they will turn out to be copies. In the basement we found a lot of snakes; a few of them were alive, but most are dead. They look like lowland copperfields. I contacted animal control to remove them. Nothing else"

Tony continued. "Matt went to prison seven years ago. Got out two years ago. Was sometimes a suspect in fraud and blackmail cases, but was never caught. He always stays below the radar, just your friendly next door neighbor. He is on a lot of watch lists."

Everyone looked at Abby. "My work is fine", she said, angry anyone would doubt her work.

"Palmer, make me happy" Gibbs said, encouraging the man to speak.

"Well, the head didn't show any sign of abuse or torture. A little research showed that the head is severed with a guitar string. That takes quite a bit of force. As I said before, Vonk was dead before he was decapitated. In his brain, we found traces of poison. Abby is running tests now, but given the damage to the nerves, I am gonna guess that he was attacked by snakes. Probably the same species that killed Ryanne Star."

"Take it away Ducky," Abby said melodramatically when the man didn't start to talk right after his assistant.

"Thank you, Abigail. Well, surprisingly enough, Matt, born as Sijmen, had a relatively happy early childhood. Loving father and mother, three younger siblings who died in a car crash. The family always had at least two dogs. Father was a dentist, mother was housewife. Used to be a "geek" in high school and college. Joined the Marines right after college. Excellent record until he was arrested for drugs. It was all downhill from there. Given his history, I think his problems originated in his childhood. His other siblings perished when Matt was fourteen years old. He apparently suffers from survivor's guilt. He felt responsible for their deaths but it wasn't his fault. The things I've told you before still hold true. I think something happened to him in jail. But we need to get the records to be certain and that could take some time. So I think you have to work with this. When you talk to the man, I think you should be sure to mention his happy childhood."

Gibbs smiled at his team. "That's good work. Interrogation in thirty minutes. Tony, you'll be questioning him with me again. Go hit the head or something until then."

"I have to talk to Vance," Ziva said and left a sea of surprised faces behind as she walk away.

Tony ran after her up the stairs and grabbed her just before she entered the Director's office. "Scuttlebutt says you're pregnant."

Ziva smiled at this. "Do not worry pumpkin", she said with a fake smile plastered on her face, patting him on the cheek. "Everything will be alright."

Thirty minutes later, Tony and Ziva arrived just in time to see Gibbs enter interrogation. Tony hurried into the interrogation room behind his boss, while Ziva headed to observation. To everybody's surprise Matt immediately started to talk when Gibbs sat down next to Tony.

"I am guilty of killing Ryanne Star, Kevin Vels and Theo Vonk. I also tortured Special Agent McGee but not with the intention to kill. I was planning on killing Special Agent DiNozzo." With that he leaned back and looked at the surprised faces across the table.

Gibbs took just a minute to recover. "Why did you dye Ryanne's hair? Why the colored contact lenses? Why my name?"

Tree took a deep breath and started to answer the questions patiently, like he was just on a social visit. "You see, it was my brother's last wish to hurt you as much as possible. We spent weeks planning this. When I saw your face at the crime scene, I knew we had done it. Having this much power, it's great. And we needed to know that you would handle the crime, that's why we signed our little gift with your name."

This confused everybody even more. Last wish? Weeks of planning?

Tony decided to ask the question. "Would you care to explain the planning, and last wish part? Because my ears? They didn't really process that part."

Matt started laughing. "You people are so dumb! But I will explain it. When Theo was released from prison he told me he wanted to take revenge on you. So we started planning, but he didn't want to go to prison again, it was the worst thing ever happened to him. So he told me I had to murder him after he tortured your agent; so that he could be free from you forever. I said I would take all the blame. After all, I am the oldest brother in the end."

"Too bad we have an agent in the great hereafter to hunt him down." Tony said, thinking about Kate. "You know, sometimes I think that she is worse than Gibbs."

Suddenly the door flew open and Abby ran in.

"Well, well, Miss Sciuto, I didn't thought I would ever be meeting you in person. You are very fascinating, you know?" Matt said with a smirk.

"Shut up freak!" Abby yelled at Matt almost hysterical. Tony jumped up and tried to remove Abby from the room but something changed in Matt's expression.

"If she leaves, I won't talk anymore."

Gibbs and Tony exchanged concerned looks, but decided that getting the information from Tree was too important. Tony pulled a chair from the corner and let Abby join them.

"So why did you want to kill Tony, but ended torturing McGee?" Abby asked, still furious.

"Oh that's an easy one. I would finally have power over some sick and twisted college fratboy! His kind made my college life hell. Killing him was the least I could do. Too bad Gibbs decided to take McGee with him instead. McGee, he was one of us. But in order to cause Gibbs pain, I had to hurt him. So I decided to beat him up instead of killing him. It worked, too, I can tell just by looking at Gibbs' body language and your absurd reaction. I think you two should become a couple again."

Even though nobody understood this last part, they had just one question left to ask. Gibbs spoke up: "How could you kill your own brother?"

"That was the hardest part." Matt actually let a sob break through. "I just threw him in the basement with snakes. When he was dead, I thought it would be a nice touch to send the head to McGee's place. I thought about sending it to Agent DiNozzo's place, but I didn't know how long it would take you to find me. When you didn't find me soon enough I decided to take matters in to own hands."

He looked satisfied now. "That's it. Take me back to my cell. I'll see you all again at my trial."

Abby, Tony and Gibbs left the interrogation room. Tony actually had to drag Abby out since she was determent to kick the man again in his crown jewels.

"That was one of the strangest interrogations I've ever witnessed." Ducky said.

"Sorry, she was gone before I noticed." Ziva told Gibbs, referring to Abby.

"What did I tell you about apologies?" Gibbs answered with a smirk. He was just happy that he put away another jerk. If there was actual justice, Tree would get death penalty

Gibbs looked at his watch. It was 5pm. "Go home, shower and change, get something to eat and then get your asses to the hospital." Tony could have sworn that Gibbs looked happy, except that he knew that Gibbs didn't do happy.

Something had been bothering Ziva; Tony knew it. He grabbed her hand before she left. "Wanna do dinner?" he said. "Meet me in 45 minutes at the hospitals gate. I know a great place, my treat. " Without waiting for an answer, he left.

When he arrived at the car he saw a new text message from Ziva, "Ok',was the only thing it said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Ziva was at the hospital gate right on time. She wondered why she even agreed to meet Tony early. She didn't want talk to him about what had been bothering her, but his trademark smile was irresistible. And she knew that she couldn't lie to him. Mossad or not, he would always know when something was bothering her.

She waved when she saw Tony approaching. She had thrown on a skirt and a nice shirt, but Tony was in a suit that he usually reserved for dates. Now she felt a little uncomfortable with her clothing choice.

"You look amazing," he said.

He saw her blush and it surprised him. She could kill people with her bare hands but a compliment made her blush. Tony thought it was very cute.

"Walk with me please," he said, offering her an arm.

Across the street from the hospital was a little restaurant. A sign on the door said 'reservations only' but Tony led Ziva inside and greeted the hostess

"Hello sir, ma'am, what name is the reservation under? "

"DiNozzo," Tony said.

"I see, follow me please. Your food will be brought out in a few minutes. Can I get you anything to drink?" They both ordered a soda.

"This is a non-menu place" Tony explained. "They serve, you eat." Ziva was surprised to see that he did not even try to hit on the waitress.

They made a lot of small talk during the meal, trying to stay away from anything too personal. But when Tony asked for the desert menu Ziva fell silent. "Ziva," he started, not sure how to begin. "Something is bothering you, I can see it. Please talk to me. I want to help you."

Ziva looked into Tony's eyes. All she could see was worry and a hint of something else, but she couldn't place it. She also saw the determination. Knowing that Tony was not about to let this go, she told him about her little brother.

At the end of the story she felt drained, but she was not crying. She sighed and looked away. Tony reached over the table and took her hand.

"Look at me." Her eyes met his. "There is more, please go on." Not letting go of her hand he moved closer to her, leaning over the table. Involuntarily, Ziva also leaned over the table. There was no fooling Tony; somehow he always knew when she was lying.

They both fell silent for a moment and listened to the song playing in the background.

_You are my angel,  
Please don't be afraid  
You are my saving grace,  
My hearts first aid  
So don't walk away._

Listening to the song Ziva realized that this was how she felt about Tony, he was her 'hearts first aid'. She started to tell him what was on her mind.

"I am sick of Mossad. Today, I found out that my former partner was killed. It is the third time one of my partners has died on a mission. I never bonded with people there, you knew that the moment you would start doing that it would be the end. But here at NCIS everything is so, so different. People care for each other and go great lengths. I want that."

Tony used his other hand to wipe away a tear that rolled down her cheek. Both of them forgot about their desert.

"America feels so safe. I can walk out on the street without the risk of getting killed at any moment."

Then she noticed the time. "We have to go; they are going to start waking McGee soon."

Tony paid the bill and they left, almost running to the hospital. They were still holding hands, and it was comforting for Ziva. Before they entered the hospital Tony came to a stop, looking seriously at Ziva.

"We need to talk more, tonight." The tone of his voice made it clear he was not accepting no for an answer. He dragged Ziva into the hospital, and they went looking for their other team members.

They quickly found the other waiting outside McGee's room

"You're late," Gibbs said, but not as gruff as usual.

Abby was about to squeal that Ziva and Tony where holding hands. Ziva, however, quickly released Tony's hand and signaled to Abby not to talk about. She moved next to Abby. "Not now," she whispered in the other woman's ear.

The team entered the room together. It was a few minutes after seven when the doctor came in. Abby opened her purse and gave everybody a party hat. "Smile," she said when the doctor was about to wake McGee up.

It was like waking up out of dream. Carefully he cracked an eyelid open. The light was very bright but after a few seconds, it became less intense and he could see a bit better. McGee couldn't help but laugh when he saw everybody, including Gibbs, wearing party hats, and Abby holding a 'Welcome Back' banner. The laughter didn't last long, as he quickly realized that his ribs were injured.

"Careful Mr. McGee," he heard the doctor say. "You've suffered some severe body trauma so we've had you in a drug-induced coma. You have a couple of broken ribs, a concussion and a one of the bones in your foot is badly broken. You need to do a lot of physical therapy. But you have a lot of friends to help you."

McGee smiled. "Thanks guys," he tried to say but his mouth was very dry so it sounded really like a rasping breath.

"Take a sip," Ducky ordered, holding a straw from the bedside water cup to his mouth.

"You can visit with your friends, but the visits need to be limited to five minutes. If there is anything you need, just press the button," the doctor said as he finished examining McGee and left.

"I would like to go first," Ducky said. He waited as the rest of the team left the room.

"Thanks for sitting with me, Ducky," Tim said.

"Don't mention it; we were so afraid you might not make it." McGee smiled, he was sure that there was a story coming. To his surprise, however, Ducky had no story. "

"We've lost people before, and that living on the edge, it hurts. But it makes us want to go further for the people we love. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it." Ducky paused for a minute before leaving Tim with his thoughts.

"Now you get better lad," he said as he left. "

The door soon opened again and Ziva came in. "Ziva, sit down please," he told her, when she made no move to sit down or say anything.

"It was awful what happened to your brother."

Seeing Ziva's eyes grow wide, he knew that she didn't expect him to remember that.

"But it's okay." He grabbed her hand. "I will be fine eventually, because if I'm not, you will get all Mossad on my ass. And that's not something I want."

He tried to sit up, but it hurt too much so he asked her to lean in. He kissed her carefully on the cheek. Seeing tears in her eyes he felt a little awkward.

"Thanks Tim," was the only thing that Ziva said before she left him alone.

Tony came in soon after Ziva left.

"You made her cry!" he accused Tim. "But it's okay, probie, you are in a hospital, so I won't kick you ass anytime soon." Then his face suddenly turned serious. "I owe you."

Tim waved it away with his hand. "It is not like you planned it, and it was either me getting beaten or you dead. I had your back on this one."

Tony still wasn't satisfied. "If there is anything that I can do for you..."

"You will be the first to know." Tim answered. "As a matter of fact, if want you to, you can do me a favor now. Take Ziva home with you and look after her. She looks off, but I don't have the energy to talk to her about it. I know you can do it."

"Sure thing, McGee." And with that Tony also left McGee alone. Tim had the feeling that Tony already was working on it.

Tim was a little bit tired so he decided to close his eyes just for a second. When he opened his eyes again he found that at least an hour had passed. Abby was sitting beside him, holding his hand.

"Hey tiny Tim," she said with a soft voice.

"Hey Abs," he answered. He saw that she was about to launch into one of her famous monologues but Tim wanted to say something first.

"Listen to me Abs, I've heard you talking. And I am not ready yet. I am not ready to date yet. We are best friends and I like that. If we started dating again, and you broke up with me again it would break my heart so bad. I don't think it would ever heal again. Because the first time was hard enough."

He left Abby speechless. He took her hands and played with one of her rings. Waiting, looking at her, till she was ready to talk.

"I cannot guarantee it is going to work this time. I cannot. But I am willing to try. I have grown up, I am ready to commit this time for real." She swallowed, this was definitely not the answer she had expected from Tim. "I am going to show you that we can work this out."

She carefully gave him a kiss on his lips. "I am going home now. I will visit you again tomorrow, is there anything I can bring you?"

Tim thought for a moment. "I would like to have my laptop."

"Love you, Timmy," she said, leaving him with his thoughts.

He looked around his bed. Suddenly he saw a little note on his bedside table. It was a note from Palmer.

_Hi Tim, _

_You are sleeping right now, and you need it, so I am going to let you sleep._

_I just wanted to let you know that I dropped by. I will visit you tomorrow during lunch time. Don't dare to sleep again than. =)_

_Take Care_

_Jimmy._

McGee smiled at the little smiley face Jimmy made. It did him good to know that even Jimmy, who he saw the least, also wanted to visit him. "I should do something with him sometime," McGee thought.

He looked around in his room and saw it was decorated. There where plushies, flowers, balloons and a lot of other Abby stuff.

McGee was thinking about his relationship with Abby, and how to proceed, when Gibbs came in. Apparently Gibbs thought McGee was asleep, because he didn't speak. "Boss," McGee managed to say. He felt really sleepy. "Has to be the medication," he decided since normally he didn't dare to sleep anywhere near his boss

"Hey McGee," Gibbs said. His facial expression gave nothing away.

"I want you to know, Boss, you couldn't have prevented this from happening." He smiled sleepily at the surprised expression at Gibbs' face.

"I should have had your back." McGee tried to rise but it really hurt his ribs. His face crunched in pain and Gibbs carefully pushed him down.

"I should have watched your back."

McGee sighed. "Boss, there was no way that you could have seen this coming. I mean. Really? I know you are good, you know you are good, but you sure as hell are not psychic. You should be glad that he only beat me up. What if he got DiNozzo? He would have killed him without a doubt."

"I still feel guilty about it." Gibbs confessed.

"You can do something to make it up," McGee smiled.

"Anything," Gibbs answered without a doubt.

"Get me Agent Commers or his phone number, and Director Vance's number, please. And if you don't mind, I would love to get some sleep right now. "

It didn't surprise Gibbs that his junior agent dozed off the minute he closed his eyes. It has been a long day for all of them and Gibbs himself could use some shut eye.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Tiva alert! And please review if you like it!**

**Chapter 11**

Tony and Ziva decided that she would pack an overnight bag and stay with him for the night. He had a spare room, and Ziva didn't.

Tony snooped around at Ziva's apartment while she packed, but didn't uncover any new information about her. On the bookcase, there were a few pictures. The first was of him talking to McGee, looking liked he just made a joke the probie didn't appreciate.

The next showed Ducky telling off Palmer, probably after they got lost with the van. The last picture on the shelf was one of Gibbs and Jenny. It looked like it had been taken covertly, while they were having a heated conversation. Tony shifted and he saw another smaller picture. It was one of Abby, hugging Bert.

All the pictures where just random snaps of everyday moments, but it showed exactly who they were. On the wall was picture of their team; a larger, official one. It had been a promotional picture for their brochure. Everyone on the team had received a copy, Tony put his on his TV. In the picture Abby was talking with Ducky and Ziva was punching Tony. It was a nice picture of their odd family.

On the bottom shelf there was yet another picture. Tony looked towards the bedroom to see if Ziva was coming, but there was no sign of her. He turned back to the picture and picked it up.

It was a family picture, probably the David family. There was a father and a mothe, two boys and four girls and a guinea pig-like thing the might be a dog. They were all smiling. From the picture you couldn't tell it was a Mossad family; they looked so normal.

"Put that away please?" Ziva asked him. He was startled, but it was only natural that he didn't hear her coming. She was quiet as a mouse.

The drive to Tony's house was made in silence. They stopped by the 24-hour store to pick up some snacks and drinks, and some cereal for breakfast. When they arrived Tony wanted to show Ziva the guest room where she could set her things, but she insisted on doing it herself, she had been here a day ago and not handicapped.

When she came downstairs the mood in the room had changed. The curtains where closed. There where some candles but the mood in the room was not romantic. Tony was playing some music Ziva didn't recognize. On the table where bowls with chips ands nuts and Tony was standing in front of his DVD collection.

"What do you wanna do first? Talk or watch a movie." Ziva was tempted to watch the movie first, but Tony really wanted to have this conversation, and to be honest, she wanted to get it over with as well. "Let's talk first."

Tony looked at her, waiting for her to begin. "It started when I was six. After school my father and I always played some games. I didn't realize it at the time, but as I got older I understood it was all to prepare me for Mossad duties. When I was twelve I held my first gun. Like a normal kid I went to school but after school I got Mossad training. I killed my first person when I was fourteen. It was an undercover op. There was a pedophile, I had to seduce him and then kill him. It was horrible and I felt sick for days."

Ziva was no longer able to hold back her tears. She started sobbing and Tony grabbed her hand letting her know that she could take as much time as she needed to and he would be there to support her.

"By the time I was eighteen, I had killed so many people, I couldn't remember all of their names. My father was so proud, I just didn't want to disappoint him. Mossad is his life you know. By the time I was twenty, I lost my little brother, and two of my sisters. I just felt like I had no emotions left. The last time I really felt something was when I killed Ari."

Tony shot her a very confused look. She killed Ari? He decided to talk about that another time.

"And now, I don't know anymore. I don't want to live like this. I am not afraid to step out of the door, and I love working at NCIS, but there is always the chance that Mossad will call me back. And that's what I do not want. "

Ziva's sobbing didn't stop. Tony sat beside her and held her close. There was nothing he could say now. He just held her close and rubbed her back softly. After a few minutes she dried her eyes, and looked up to Tony. "Thanks," was the only thing she said, ending the conversation.

Tony released her and walked to the kitchen. "Beer or wine?"

"Beer," was her short answer. She picked a movie from his collection. She decided to watch Wall-E. Tony was surprised by her choice but didn't say anything. She snuggled up next to him on the couch, and he put his arm around her. They laughed at the movie and agreed that Wall-E was very cute.

Tony sniffed Ziva's hair when something struck him. This sensation, this tingly feeling in his gut, he knew that feeling. He felt it with his first car, he had felt it with Jeanne, and now he was feeling it with Ziva. He was in love. Confused by his feelings, he decided to put them in the back of his mind. They watched the rest movie together without exchanging a word.

When the credits came rolling in Ziva clutched to his shirt. He looked down and saw that she was fast asleep. He smiled and picked her up. She was very small so it was no problem at all. He carried her upstairs and put her on his spare bed. He took her shoes and vest off and tucked her beneath the sheets. Then he kissed her careful on the lips before leaving her to sleep.

He went downstairs to clean his living room a little. He had a reputation as a sloppy person, but he liked to keep his place clean. He blew out the candles and turned off the lights. He went silently upstairs and changed into something more comfortable for bed.

He lay in bed for a long time, having trouble sleeping. He knew that this kind of thing could happen. Like he said before, it was inevitable. But, still, he was surprised. He didn't expect it, not in a hundred years.

She was dangerous, a killer, she had trouble dealing with her feelings. But when he thought of her, his stomach started to tickle. He sighed, man this was bad. It had been bad enough with Jeanne, but if he started something with Ziva, knowing that she could die any moment, or be sent back to Mossad, it would be worse. He didn't know if he wanted that.

He was on the edge of falling asleep when he suddenly heard screaming. He grabbed his gun before he realized it was Ziva. He went over to her bedroom to find her having a nightmare.

She was screaming like she was being attacked, her body sweating and her eyes disco dancing beneath her eyelids.

"Ziva," he said trying to wake her. He was shaking her carefully to wake her up, but not frighten her. When she woke up she immediately reached for her gun under the pillow. She saw Tony and it took her a few minutes to realize what happened. Then she fell back on the bed, and started to cry. She faced away from Tony and tried to keep it in.

Tony sat with her on the bed and was careful rubbing her back. "Hold me," she said.

She gave into the sobs, giving up trying to hide them. Tony tried to lay down with her but it didn't fit. The bed was too small. He picked her up for the second time that evening and carried her to his own bed. When he laid her down he thought about all the times that he carried women to his bed, but this was different.

She continued crying and Tony laid down behind her, spooning her and holding her close.

"It's okay, let it go," he kept whispering in to her ear. After at least half an hour she fell asleep, her body still shaking. He was still holding her close, enjoying the scent of her hair, when he fell asleep.

He woke up early the next morning. Gibbs had told them that unless there was a case, they could sleep in and not come to headquarters until ten. He felt Ziva stir. He needed to go to the bathroom but didn't feel like he was ready to let her go yet. She had turned sometime in the night and now she was facing him.

When she opened her eyes and realized that she was being held by Tony, in his bed, she freaked out. He released her and sat up. Before he could think anything she was standing at the other side of the room.

"This was wrong" was all she said before she fled into the spare room. He let himself fall back on the mattress, thinking about the next step.

Ziva sat down on the end of the bed. She was very confused. She didn't completely remember what happened. But she freaked out when she woke up and felt so comfortable. That was a feeling she didn't allow herself. Now she only could get hurt. She heard a soft knock on the door. She waited a second before she answered, "Enter"

Tony came in and sat beside her, making sure to keep some distance and not totally scare her away.

They felt both awkward and didn't know how to start the conversation.

"I am sorry," Tony started, "you looked so lost and I didn't want to leave you alone. And when you finally slept I didn't want to wake you again. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

Ziva looked at him, putting her hand on his thigh. "I freaked out, but it was not because of you. More because of the moment. It has been a long time since I allowed myself to feel so close and vulnerable to someone. And I am always afraid that the people I get close to are going to hurt me one way or another."

Tony put his hand on Ziva's, "I understand," he said.

"Want breakfast?" he asked, deciding not to push the subject. If she wanted to talk about it she could start. She nodded. "You can use the bathroom as long as you want, as long at you don't use up all the hot water." With that he went downstairs to prepare breakfast.

An hour later Ziva came down, showered and nicely dressed. It was barely 8 so they had time for a nice, relaxing breakfast. Tony secretly went to the store down his block but buy some fresh, hot bread, he had some fresh orange juice and different sorts of fruits. She was surprised at this nice gesture and together they enjoyed their breakfast, talking about nothing really important. Just enjoying each others company.

They went to the hospital together before heading to the Navy Yard so that Ziva could get her car. They left the hospital at the same time, but Ziva was still in long before he was. He wasn't surprised at thatgiven how she drives. It was a surprise she was still alive.

There were no new cases so for the rest of the day so they worked on their paperwork from the Matt Tree case. Their minds kept wandering to their friend and coworker at the hospital. The day went by without any problems and Gibbs ended the day at 5, giving them an early break to visit McGee.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

A week went by without any big cases. They where all happy to hear that Tim was released from the hospital. Abby had set up a schedule for every volunteer to visit Tim and help him with cooking, cleaning or showering. But to be honest, Tim only felt comfortable showering when Abby was there, so she came a few extra times a week. But she didn't mind at all.

McGee was wondering when exactly Abby had turned in to a mother figure, she was doing his laundry, walking Jethro and made sure he ate enough vitamins. She was always a very caring person, but this was a little over the top.

After a few days she didn't even bother to go home anymore. She took over more than half his closet and his bathroom cabinet. Since McGee did not have many rooms in his house she slept in his bed.

Tim was wondering where this relationship was going. It felt natural to hold her hand while he slept, her scent was his oxygen. No longer able to resist her he worked out a plan.

In order to make his plan work, he needed some help. It was time to call in another favor from Tony, because if there was someone able to help him, it was DiNozzo. He called Tony and made it sound so dramatic, Tony came flying over.

"What do you need McGee?" He said, bracing himself for the worst when he entered Tim's apartment.

"I need to go on a date" McGee said.

Tony looked at him like he was an idiot. "Are you sure, probie? You won't get laid with that," he said pointing to McGee's broken ribs and foot.

"I want to go on a date with Abby," McGee explained. "I want to give our relationship another go, so does she. And I need a perfect romantic date. Here in my house."

Tony laughed like he heard the best joke ever.

"This is nowhere near romantic probie," he said, "I will get the afternoon off from Gibbs and then I will fix something at my apartment."

He turned around to leave. Before he went out the door he looked back at McGee in his bed. "I will get you at six. Wear something nice. You will get the bill later."

Abby called him a little later that day. She also had a webcam feed from his place in her lab and she also had a microphone planted. But sometimes she just wanted to call him, see if he was alright. Once he didn't answer his phone and Abby came running in with Ziva and Tony, just to see if he was alright. So to avoid that kind of situation, he just picked up the phone when she called him.

"Tim," he answered his phone. Abby started asking all kinds of questions, and he answered them all patiently.

"Listen Abs, I need you to come home early tonight. Can you do that?"

"Of course, Timmy!" She answered happily. "Listen Tim, I really need to go," she said changing her tone. "I can't hang on the phone all the time with you!" In the background he heard Gibbs talking. Smiling, he broke off the connection.

Abby was home by four. She told Vance that she usually worked till midnight, so she would be going home early. Vance was too stunned to answer and let her go. Tim was in his wheelchair and had picked out two changes of clothes. One for him and one for her.

"We need to shower, because we are going out tonight," he told her happily. Abby looked at him glowingly. Even though she was worried it would be too much for him, she decided it would do him good to get out of the house.

"Where are we going?" she asked him curiously.

"Won't tell," he said. "Let's get ready," he told her. And with that they went to work to getting Tim clean and dressed.

A few minutes before six they were both ready. Tim had no idea what was going to happen. Tony was the master of dates so he trusted his teammate with this. At six sharp his doorbell rang. Abby opened the door and was surprised. There was Tony in his best smoking jacket.

"Hello ma'am, sir," he said. "Your ride has arrived, would you please follow me?" Abby wheeled Tim to Tony's car where they both lifted him in the front seat. In the rearview mirror Tim saw Tony give Ziva his apartment key.

When they arrived at Tony's house Abby and Tony lifted him back into his wheelchair. Tony wheeled Tim in his house and helped Abby out of her coat. Tony's living room was beautiful and romantic. The curtains were closed and there are lots of candles burning. In the background where was some music playing. Abby recognized it as the Music from Amelie. "Leave it to Tony to pick the soundtrack of a movie," she smiled.

Tony guided them to their seats. He took their order for drinks and served the meal along with the drinks. He also left a bell at the table. If there was anything they needed, they should ring for him. He would be in his bedroom watching a movie.

Abby smiled at Tim. He and DiNozzo had set up a romantic date for her. They just smiled at each other and enjoyed their food. Tony explained that Ziva had cooked the meal. And to be honest? It was delicious.

When they were half way through dinner Tim grabbed Abby's hand. "We are here for a reason," he started, "I want to start dating again" he said a little bluntly. Abby squealed in delight.

But before she started to talk, Tim jumped in. "I want there to be some ground rules," he said. Abby's expression saddened a bit. "I like you, I like you very much. I even think I love you. But I need some rules, just to get this relationship started."

Abby placed her hand on Tim's hand. "I already told you that I am in this as far as humanly possible. I will do anything to make it work with you."

Tim's face turned a little bit red. "I think I need to go to the bathroom," he said. He pushed the bell to get Tony. "You are on a date, you shouldn't have to help me," he explained to her.

Tony came in and asked very politely if there was something he could do. He took his part as waiter very seriously. "I need to go to the bathroom please," Tim told him.

"Of course, sir" Tony said, wheeling him away to his bathroom.

"How is it going?" Tony asked, waiting in his bedroom while McGee was in the bathroom. "Very well, we are about to talk about the conditions" McGee said. "

Tony smiled. "I knew it! It is all 'because of this date!" He looked very happy and couldn't help glowing when he pushed Tim back in. He served them new drinks and went back to his bedroom.

"Any conditions," Abby said, taking up the conversation where they left it before Tim's potty break.

"We are going to take it slow. No sleepovers until I am healed, so we can do it the right way." Abby nodded, she could understand that. He was still a man after all, and this sleeping with her was not the kind he was looking forward to.

"Tomorrow night I will go home." She promised him. "Tony told me that I couldn't go home tonight."

"That's fine" McGee said.

Tim took a sip from his drink and continued. They both had pushed their meals aside. "Then there is an other thing. I want this relationship to go somewhere. And as you know, I like to talk about where this is going. I mean, we don't have to make appointments for it, but I would like to have this conversation once in a while."

Abby sighed, she knew this would come. "Tim, when I told you I was in for this for real, I knew you were going to say that. I even want to have this conversation, because I know it is important to you.

Abby saw that this date was wearing out Tim. They belled and asked Tony for desert. Ziva prepared some Israeli desert and it was so good, Abby asked for some of it to take home with her. When the meal was over, Tony drove them back to home.

When Abby opened the door to Tim's apartment she was surprised. Everything geeky was covered with sheets and there was a red glow in the living room. Tony ordered Abby to go play a game at Tim's computer or something.

"Time for some love," Tony said taking McGee to his bedroom.

McGee's usually white bedroom walls were covered in a red glow. There where candles everywhere and the TV was ready to play Brokeback Mountain, the most romantic movie Tim owned. Everywhere he looked there where candles. The room was very romantic and seemed to exude love.

"Ziva did this?" Tim wanted to know. "Yep, probie. All this is the work of our killer ninja." McGee was surprised.

Tony helped McGee change and then put him in to bed. He was wearing his MIT shirt. Abby wore it last night so it smelled like her. Tony told Abby to change in to something comfortable and lay next to McGee.

While Abby was changing Tony put a bottle of alcohol-free wine on the bedstand next to Tim, he also left some snacks.

"Good luck, Probie" he wished Tim before he left the apartment. He headed back to his apartment where now Ziva would be. Smiling he pushed the car to go faster.

Abby sat next to McGee, holding his hand. She would like to snuggle up next to him but she knew it would cause him too much pain. So she settled for holding his hand.

When the movie arrived at the point where Jack and Ennis met again they were both crying. McGee leaned over to look at Abby, with his other hand he brushed away the tears of her face.

Cupping her cheek he both leaned for the kiss they both had been longing for. Her lips felt softer than he remembered. His tongue licked her upper lip. She opened her mouth to let him in, and he explored her mouth like he had never been there before. They both lost themselves completely in the kiss, after a while they had to come up for air. Speechless, he looked in her eyes,

"I love you" he whispered, asking himself if it wasn't way too early for that.

Abby shut down the TV and snuggled up next to McGee, her head on his chesttrying to be careful not to hurt him. It did hurt, but he just couldn't tell her. Her face looked more pale than usual on his bandaged chest. But the only thing he felt were butterflies in his stomach and something that seemed like endless love.

_I need the colors, painted in your mind._

A line of his favorite song at the moment flashed trough his head looking at her.

Right before he fell asleep he heard Abby whisper, "I love you, too" and happy, he fell asleep.

The next morning he looked at Abby. He had pushed her of his chest somewhere during the night. She hung onto his arm and her eyes fluttered when she woke up. She kissed him careful on his mouth and came out of bed to get them ready for the day and after that she would get to work.

The following two weeks, Gibbs and his team had just one murder, but he refused to take a T.A.D. Agent. The team just finished the case when they heard a ding from the elevator. They were not so surprised to hear Abby talking, but they where surprised to see that she was talking to McGee in a wheelchair.

"McGeeee!" Tony said happily. Ziva kissed him on the cheek and even Gibbs looked happy to see him.

"Good to see you, McGee," Gibbs said. "Cleared for duty?" He said with a smile to the man in a wheelchair.

"Nope," McGee answered. "Just a conversation with Vance. When I finish, I will stay a while to chat, after that I have lunch with Abby." He wheeled back to the elevator and went up one floor. He smiled at his team before he went in, feeling completely happy.

He wheeled right into the director's office "Morning, Director," he said. He wheeled into the roomso that he sat across the from the Director at his desk.

"I did some thinking about your plans, Agent McGee. And I came up with a plan myself. Let's get all the parties involved upstairs," Vance told McGee. It was not until then when McGee saw George Commers. They exchanged pleasantries, but before long Abby, Gibbs, Tony and Ziva were in the office.

"I have some news for you all." Vance started. Everyone in the room had flashbacks; Abby lost all color in her face and hung onto Gibbs and McGee.

"Let's starts with Officer David. Your liaison position with NCIS has ended." After this he paused and took a deep breath deliberately leaving the team in ignorance. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Special Agent Ziva David."

He handed her an envelope. "You are now an American citizen and NCIS senior field agent. Congratulations." He watched with a smile as he saw the other team members congratulate Ziva and Abby was so happy she crushed Ziva in a hug.

"Agent McGee," Vance said when everybody was quiet again. "We talked about this. As long as you are on desk duty you are re-assigned to cybercrimes to lead your own team. They were happy to take you back."

Abby looked very hurt. "Trust me Abs," Tim chuckled. "I would go crazy in the bullpen when I couldn't go out in the field. I will be there for a few months, and then I will get back as field agent as soon as the doctor clears me."

"That better be soon," Gibbs warned his agent.

"Next," Director Vance said. "Agent Commers transferred from the local police department to NCIS. He will be Gibbs' new junior agent." Vance waited a minute and looked at the confused faces.

"This means the following. As soon as Agent McGee is cleared for field duty he will be Gibbs' Senior Agent. DiNozzo, you will get your own team. Ziva will be your Senior Agent, when the time is there you can choose your own junior agent. Your team will handle all hostage situations, and major crimes. You will still be under Gibbs' command."

He glared at DiNozzo. "This is not a debate, this will happen."

Tony's face looked like it was made of steel, revealing no emotions at all. But Ziva could tell that he wasn't happy with it. He could have had his own team a long time ago but he liked everything just as it was. He grabbed Ziva's had for support.

"Miss Scuito. Last but certainly not least. I brought you up here because in a few months there will be an extra team who depends on you. This would be too much workload. You have until then to find your own assistant."

Everyone was now looking at Abby's frightened face. And Gibbs whispered something in her ear. Vance had no doubt Gibbs would be up here again later today to talk about it. But he made up his mind.

"Thank you all for coming, that's all." Vance said and with that he sent everyone away, happy that the meeting was over.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Epilogue

Back in the bullpen Gibbs watched his team. He knew this was coming. Tony was his senior field agent for more than eight years. That is a long time. Most of Gibbs former Senior Agents were leading their own teams after four years.

Eight years was also a long time for DiNozzo, the kid never had more than two years somewhere before he joined NCIS. Gibbs was happy when they crossed that timeline, knowing Tony would stay here longer. He sighed; he only had to convince his agent now that he was ready to lead his own team.

Abby started talking. "I really, really do not want an assistant." She told him matter-of-factly. "Fix it.!"

But Gibbs thought about it. "No Abs, you can find your own assistant. And he is right. You work too much, way things would never work with McGee with you working that much."

Abby looked at him, how did he know that? But he was Gibbs; he knew everything.

Still a little mad, she decided to get McGee and wheel him away from the new baby agent that had replaced her Geek.

McGee was sitting in his wheelchair between the desks. He had a box and cleaned his desk out. It was now George's desk. He took George aside to give him some advice.

"Whatever you do, never let Tony get under you skin." George smiled.

"Thanks," he said to McGee.

"Maybe we could have lunch sometime," McGee suggested before he got wheeled away by Abby.

Tony sat at his desk staring at his blank computer monitor. Ziva came to stand next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. He stood up and walked away to the men's room.

Gibbs saw Ziva following him and wondered when people decided to break rule 12 all together. He leaned back and looked at his new junior agent. Time to break him in. "Commers!" he yelled at the man, making him jump. Gibbs grinned, this was going to be fun.

**THE END!**

*waves*

"Thank you! Thank you"

*grabbs a cheat sheet.*

"There are some people i like to thank.

First I want to thank my mother, without her I would not have emagionation.

I also want to thank JS, without his I would have never loved NCIS as much as I do now.

Very important for this story was also Caroline, thank you so much for being my beta reader.

I want to thank DPB, for he is the person who created NCIS.

Thank you Sean Murray, you are so cute, I love it when you play McGee.

And I want to thank you all for reading this story.

Please review and have a nice day!

*walks of the stage with trophy.*


End file.
